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Woolsey: Wedge woes not so groovy for PGA Tour

Mention the words "golf" and "cheat" in the same sentence and Tiger Woods' name automatically enters the mix.

As in cheating on his wife; you may have heard about that.

But cheating at the game, at the gentlemanly pursuit in which players are expected to call penalties upon themselves when deserved?

All of a sudden it's the current generation's next-best player, Phil Mickelson, who is the alleged poster boy for cheating. Everyone was counting on Phil to step forward in Tiger's absence.

But this?

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"It's cheating and I'm appalled Phil has put it in play," fellow pro Scott McCarron said at the ongoing PGA Tour event in San Diego, with reference to a square-grooved wedge Mickelson has in his bag.

The PGA Tour this year has moved to ban irons with that configuration, favouring V-shaped grooves that impart less backspin on certain shots. But there is a tiny legal loophole, thus allowing a vintage Ping wedge to be used in play.

Terms of the settlement of a lawsuit brought by Ping allow the use of any Ping Eye 2 square-grooved wedge made before April 1, 1990.

Mickelson is not the only one using the model, but certainly he has the highest profile.

"I think that myself or any other player is allowed to play those clubs because they're approved – end of story," Mickelson said.

Technically, to be sure, he is not cheating.

But McCarron is not alone in being miffed by Mickelson's hair-splitting. There is the law and then there is the spirit of the law.

Mickelson said: "It's not my job or the job of any of the players to try to interpret the spirit of the rule or the intent. I understand approved or not approved. I didn't make this rule. I don't agree with the rule, but I'm abiding by it."

He told reporters he finds little difference in play between the controversial model – he had one in storage as part of a long disused set – and the V-grooved model he would otherwise use. He has long been on record as being opposed to the ban on square grooves.

Golf has been helped and harmed by technological advances.

It is no surprise competitors take whatever edge they can get – why set pro golfers on a higher moral plane than other athletes?

It is up to the PGA Tour to close the loophole and re-establish the imaginary boundary that makes golf professionals seem above the gritty dog-eat-dog of other pro sports.

As it is, they are sounding like spoiled brats and/or crybabies. The tour, already minus its top draw, is looking silly.

What's most remarkable here is that one member of the conservative PGA Tour brotherhood would use such strong and accusatory language in public against another member.

Usually, those things – like Woods' love life – stay in the privacy of the clubhouse or bedroom.

AND FURTHERMORE: John Daly is said to be using the old Ping, too. In his case it's not cheating, it's desperation. ... Daly is a big advocate of the type of surgery that has helped him shed weight. "It's the greatest thing I've ever done in my life. Obesity is one of the worst things that has happened to our country." He adds: "My goal is to help create an opportunity for people who are obese (to have) a way out. Our government should help take care of these people." ... Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks showed up the other day in a much-publicized photo depicting him as shirtless and flanked by female companions in a vehicle in Vancouver. Last year, he made headlines for getting involved in a dispute with a cabbie in his hometown of Buffalo. "I've had a couple of incidents, obviously," Kane told ESPN.com. "I'm 21 years old. It's probably time to grow up a little bit." Just a little.

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